1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a head stack assembly for a disk drive. More particularly, this invention relates to a stamped actuator arm having a plurality of stamped protrusions for supporting a trace suspension flex.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Related Information
A huge market exists for disk drives such as hard disk drives for mass-market host computer systems such as servers, desktop computers, and laptop computers. To be competitive in this market, a hard disk drive must be relatively inexpensive, and must accordingly embody a design that is adapted for low-cost mass production. In addition, it must provide substantial capacity, rapid access to data, and reliable performance. Numerous manufacturers compete in this huge market and collectively conduct substantial research and development, at great annual cost, to design and develop innovative hard disk drives to meet increasingly demanding customer requirements.
Each of numerous contemporary mass-market hard disk drive models provides relatively large capacity, often in excess of 40 gigabytes per drive. Nevertheless, there exists substantial competitive pressure to develop mass-market hard disk drives that have even higher capacities and that provide rapid access. Another requirement to be competitive in this market is that the hard disk drive must conform to a selected standard exterior size and shape often referred to as a “form factor.” Generally, capacity is desirably increased without increasing the form factor or the form factor is reduced without decreasing capacity.
Satisfying these competing constraints of low-cost, small size, high capacity, and rapid access requires innovation in each of numerous components and methods of assembly including methods of assembly of various components into certain subassemblies. Typically, the main assemblies of a hard disk drive are a head disk assembly and a printed circuit board assembly.
The head disk assembly includes an enclosure including a disk drive base and a disk drive cover, at least one disk having at least one recording surface, a spindle motor for causing each disk to rotate, and an actuator arrangement. The printed circuit board assembly includes circuitry for processing signals and controlling operations. Actuator arrangements can be characterized as either linear or rotary; substantially every contemporary cost-competitive small form factor drive employs a rotary actuator arrangement.
The rotary actuator arrangement typically includes a head stack assembly having a rotary actuator. The rotary actuator includes an actuator body in which multiple actuator arms extend from the actuator body. A head gimbal assembly is attached to each respective actuator arm and such a head gimbal assembly may include a trace suspension flex for transmitting signals from a magnetic head to a preamplifier attached to a side of the actuator body via a flex assembly. The rotary actuator is typically formed from extruded metal, such as aluminum, and the metal actuator arm includes extruded tabs. Each extruded tab includes a slot, which is formed via a costly machining operation, and such machined slots are used to support the trace suspension flex.